Cat's Eye
by ghostgirl19
Summary: Princess Marinette is attending the ball held in her and her fiance's honor. But with no fiance around, she becomes utterly bored. She wanted something to happen, but didn't want the notorious outlaw Chat Noir visiting to be that something!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I can't get enough of these medieval/Princess AU's. I think I have an addiction xD I actually have another medieval oneshot in the works lol. But regular story-wise, one way or another will be the next to be updated. I have about a quarter of it done so far, hopefully I can finish it by this weekend.**

* * *

 **Cat's Eye**

Princess Marinette sat idly in her throne, toying with the diamond ring sitting on her left ring finger with a pensive frown. There was no use denying it, she was absolutely, utterly bored.

She was well aware that she shouldn't have been. After all, this was supposed to be the engagement ball held in her and Prince Theo's honor, but her betrothed _still_ hasn't shown up.

She would have conversed with Lady Alya, her best friend, but she had sent word to Marinette that morning claiming to have taken ill. She apologized for her absence but wished the Princess best wishes and hopes that she would have a good time.

The young princess resisted the urge to prop an elbow on the arm of her throne and rest her cheek against her palm. It was even harder to hold back the bored yawn threatening to escape her.

"Marinette," Queen Sabine, her mother, quietly admonished next to her. "Do try to keep your chin up, this is your engagement party."

"It doesn't feel like it," Marinette hissed in a whisper, not able to hold back the annoyed tone. "What's an engagement party without one half of the couple present?"

"I'm sure Prince Theo is just running late," her mother gently reassured, smiling. "You never know when a complication of some sort will arise. Now, keep your back straight, and keep smiling. Remember, you're the happy soon-to-be bride and Queen."

Marinette nodded and murmured a 'yes, Maman' but she didn't feel very happy. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if her mood would be lifted even if Theo _did_ show up. Her parents had encouraged the match from the very start, and so she let herself be courted by the older prince. But all throughout the courtship Theo would sometimes let his affections be off-and-on. At one moment he'd be praising her beauty, then the next he'd just be polite and treating her how a friend would.

She had to admit that she was disappointed in Theo's pursuit of her. In some of the books in her palace's library, there were tales of dashing men scaling walls to be with their beloved, and every single time they saw them they would practically speak poetry to them, treating them like the most precious treasure.

With Theo, she just felt...ordinary.

Oh, well. She supposed her books were just that: books. Romantic pursuits didn't happen like that in real life.

Just as she was about to sigh, still completely bored with the night, she heard horrified gasps from the attendees along with the loss of the orchestra's music.

The royal family sat up straighter in their chairs, determined and curious to see what had caused the disturbance.

They didn't have to wait long. For a man clad in black garments strolled toward the thrones, the guests parting to make room for him. Marinette, along with everyone else, recognized him as the famous outlaw Chat Noir, who went from kingdom to kingdom stealing riches with his loyal followers who would wear ominous black cloaks to conceal their faces.

Their leader was vastly different in his appearance. Instead of a cloak to conceal his identity, he wore a black mask that covered a good portion of his face, only leaving the tip of his nose, lower cheeks, mouth and chin exposed. As he walked closer and closer, the Princess could see his lips part to reveal a row of perfectly straight and white teeth in a deadly grin.

She wasn't sure if he had ever killed anyone, but she didn't put it past him.

Marinette's eyes wandered up to the second floor of the ballroom. Posted all around the area were black-cloaked men with bows and arrows at the ready, willing to shoot should someone make a move.

Well, it explained why the guards hadn't arrested the thief on sight.

The intruder finally stopped just short of the elevated perch of the thrones. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her parents' faces resembled stone. Strong, and unrelenting.

"Majesties," Chat Noir spoke, his voice smooth and rich. The young Princess blinked in surprise, for she had expected him to sound gruff and cruel like most outlaws she had heard before. Although he did look to be young, so that had to explain it.

"This is quite a lovely party you are hosting," he continued, his eyes calculating as he observed the King and Queen, who had yet to speak. "I wonder what the occasion-"

His last word remained on the tip of his tongue as his gaze settled on Marinette. She didn't back down from the challenge and stared right back, eyebrows furrowed in her budding anger due to his presence. Her chin was lifted and her sapphire eyes screamed defiance, letting him know that she wouldn't tremble before him like any other naive and dim-witted princess.

She could almost swear that his eyes seemed to flash with an emotion she couldn't place. All too quickly the edges of his lips curled into a predatory smirk, and for the first time Marinette felt a pang of fear stab her. She tried to read the expression on his face, but he turned away from her before she could properly observe him.

"You know, I find myself in need of a good party," the thief went on, voice as smooth and unwavering as before, although now there was a hint of mischief to it. "Stealing everything in sight is very tiresome, you know."

"No, we don't know that feeling," King Tom spoke, tone hardened as his brown eyes narrowed.

Chat Noir chuckled, the sound sending a strange chill down her spine. She was sure that she wasn't scared. So for why she shivered, she couldn't answer.

"Of course. As King, don't you steal money from the peasants everyday?" he taunted, causing Tom to emit a low growl of anger. His wife was quick to lay a hand on her husband's arm to prevent him from doing anything drastic and costly.

The villain grinned at this, delighting at how easy it was to upset the King. "As I was saying, stealing can be very tiresome for me. I need to relax every now and then, and what better place to do that than a party?"

Marinette's eyes squinted in suspicion, trying to get to the bottom of his vague words. What was he playing at, exactly? Surely he didn't want to just relax and have a good time, there had to be an ulterior motive.

"And, there's just something about parties," the thief paused, his grin curling even deeper, "that just makes you want to dance."

"You want to dance at our royal ball?" Sabine questioned, wondering she'd understood his meaning right. The entire idea was ridiculous, so Marinette didn't blame her mother for asking him that.

Chat Noir scoffed. "Well obviously I can't dance alone."

He bowed and held out a hand toward the young Princess, who could only stare at him with her eyes threatening to pop out of her head in her astonishment. He didn't-there was no way he wanted-

His head that was previously bent raised to give her a heated, devious look that induced Marinette to gulp and her face to regrettably warm.

"Care for a dance, _Princess_?" he asked, her title coming out in a low, seductive purr.

Marinette blanched, not at all liking how the most notorious outlaw was asking to dance with her, and how she felt little ladybugs buzzing in her stomach from how he spoke his request. She wouldn't dance with him, there was no way she would accept his wish for a dance. Especially not when he was causing her body to feel such strange reactions to him.

"Absolutely not," her father snapped, his hands tightly gripping the arms of his throne, effectively distracting Marinette from her mental struggle. "I will not let my daughter anywhere near you!"

Chat's burning, evergreen eyes, previously locked on her frozen blue ones, flickered over to the King. He flashed him a smug grin.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands, Your Majesty. Besides, the Princess is her own person. I believe she's mature enough to answer an invitation to dance." He turned back to her, resuming his earlier position with his hand held towards her. "So, what do you say, Your Highness? Will you dance with me?"

Her eyes once more wandered above her, to the black-cloaked archers with their arrows pointed at everyone, excluding their leader. She swallowed, knowing that if she refused him then...well, she didn't want to think of the consequences.

She squared her shoulders and hardened her gaze, not allowing him to think she was intimidated by him.

"I will dance with you, Chat Noir," she spoke boldly. Her acceptance caused him to grin wider in satisfaction, looking the very definition of the cat that got the cream.

As she descended to the dance floor, she chanced a look back to her parents, silently trying to tell them it would be alright. They looked on at her with fear and caution in their eyes, yet they nodded their ascent all the same.

When Marinette reached Chat Noir, she couldn't help but grimace when she placed her hand in his waiting one. The leather felt warm as his fingers closed over hers, which felt nice, she admitted, but it was still the hand of a thieving outlaw.

She stubbornly refused to look at him until they reached the center of the ballroom floor, looking into his eyes when he gently turned her to face him. All the guests meanwhile littered around the edges of the floor, giving the couple ample space to dance.

That stupid grin of his was still in place when he wrapped an arm around her waist, and held her other in the air, getting them into a perfect waltz stance. He paused, as though waiting for something. She raised an eyebrow in response, in turn his lips peeled back in a silent snarl and he whipped his head around to glare at the orchestra.

Oh, right. They needed music.

Her eyes shifted to the side, past her partner's head, to see the orchestra flinch in obvious terror, then shakily resume their stances to play.

In no less than three seconds, a beautiful harmony began to sound throughout the ballroom.

Chat Noir smiled, and with a tug of his hand, he pulled her into the dance. She might have been inclined to step on his toes whenever possible, but she didn't want to take the chance of having an arrow pierce an innocent person's heart. As a result she was the faultless dancer her royal upbringing created.

She didn't exactly want to lock eyes with him for the entire dance; initiating eye contact was usually a signal to start a conversation. Instead she kept her narrowed eyes trained on his nose since she didn't want to be looking down at the ground (a clear sign of submission) either.

Marinette had to admit that for an outlaw, he danced remarkably well. There wasn't a single flaw in his fluid steps, his feet were practically gliding across the floor.

"You haven't spoken to me yet, nor have you looked me in the eyes," he pointed out in an amused murmur. "Don't tell me you're afraid, Princess?"

The comment was enough to snap her eyes up to penetrate into his. Only while hers were fiery with building fury and annoyance because _how dare he, she wasn't afraid of a dirty alley cat like him_ , his were twinkling with glee.

Huh. Now that she had a proper look, she could see how green his eyes really were. They were a beautiful color, like the shiniest, most expensive emerald gem. Never had she seen eyes so bright as his, everyone else's dulled in comparison.

Come to think of it, he was rather handsome as well. Golden hair that looked silky to the touch, a strong jawline, the portion of nose that wasn't covered by the mask looked perfect, and so did his lips. They were full, but not too much so that it would look feminine, and a light pink, and they were curved up just so sinfully right-

"See something you admire, Princess?" he quipped, shooting her a playful wink. Marinette scowled and wrenched her eyes away from him, looking off to the side of the ballroom. She wished she could be one of those guests, and not have to be in this infuriating bandit's arms.

"Was it my eyes you admired so much?" he asked, his voice light and teasing as he slowly spun them around. "I've received quite a lot of compliments about them over the years, so I can understand if you like them, too. Then again it could've been my lips. I've had plenty of women tell me they were, hm, how did they say it? Oh yes, 'simply immaculate for kissing', if I remember correctly. Or was it-"

"It was none of those things!" she hissed, not able to reign in her temper any longer. He was handsome, obviously so, but it gave him no excuse to be so conceited and cocky about it. "I don't admire you at all. I just can't wait for this song to be over so I can get away from you."

A tiny voice inside of her screamed about the terrible mistake she had probably just made. What if he got mad and ordered his men to kill everyone in the room? But the more dominant, feisty part of her ignored it and stared defiantly into his eyes.

However, he didn't get mad at all. In fact, he actually smirked, like he was internally laughing at her. She didn't know which reaction she hated more.

"I'm glad your personality is just as intriguing as your beauty," he remarked, twirling her around. Her breath hitched in alarm when he finished the move by pressing her back against his chest.

She bit her lip when she felt warm, soft lips brushing against the shell of her ear.

"Because it would've been a _paw_ ful shame if you were like those other women."

Before she could make a demand to release her and get away from her and to not say any more terrible puns, he spun her back into her original position and carried on with the dance.

Marinette ignored the tiny part of her heart that sung because _finally_ she received a compliment worthy of the ones she's read in her books, and she especially pushed it away when it wondered what he would say in a more private setting, with her pressed up against him and he at the shell of her ear again, whispering-

No! She was an engaged woman, thoughts like those ones didn't belong!

Coincidentally his eyes strayed to her left hand that was resting on his shoulder, as per the waltzing positing required. He studied the diamond for awhile, a frown marring his features, until he turned back to her with an infuriating grin.

"That's a nice ring, Princess, but I'm afraid you have made a mistake. It is supposed to be on your _right_ ring finger, not on your left. Imagine what people would think if they noticed." He chuckled.

She fixed him with a cool look, eyes dull and eyebrows perfectly arched.

"There is no mistake, Chat Noir. My ring is where it belongs."

"Oh," he replied, sounding careless, yet Marinette knew he was anything but for some reason. "So you're engaged, then?"

"Yes."

"To whom, if I may ask?"

"Prince Theo Barbot," she announced, for once sounding proud. She didn't know why, but she just wanted to rub her engagement in his face. A part of her must've thrilled on the possibility of upsetting him, she guessed, though she still didn't know why he would even be upset.

"Hm," he hummed in contemplation. "Let me see. Tall, tan skin, longish brown hair pulled into a ponytail, likes to dress in dark-purplish colors?"

A sliver of fear plagued the girl's heart, for he just accurately described her fiance. "Y-Yes?"

"And has he shown up tonight?" he asked idly, spinning them around again.

"N-No..." she mumbled. What was he talking about?

"You may want to check the little study outside the right exit doors," he answered ominously, face gone serious. Yet in his eyes looked to be...triumph? It was hard to tell.

Her eyebrows lowered at the mysterious answer. Why should she check in the study? It was only used for when some of the men wanted to gather to talk and drink, smoke as well. As far as she knew no one had gone in there yet, so why would Theo be there all alone, if that was what Chat was getting at?

At that moment the song chose to end. Normally this was the time the guests would politely clap for the performers and musicians, yet they didn't this time for obvious reasons.

Chat Noir and Marinette separated themselves from each other, still keeping with tradition and bowing (or in the Princess's case, curtsying) to their respective partner.

She rose from her position, her head gradually moving up to try to capture his attention again and ask for clarification about his earlier answer. She had just opened her mouth, when the ballroom was plunged into darkness.

Marinette gasped and froze, her ears easily picking up the horrified screams of the attendees. Her head wildly looked about, trying to find any source of light, but she couldn't see anything at all. Even her hand was invisible to her.

She wanted to move, to be a true Princess and help and guide her people, yet she knew if she took one blind step she would probably trip over her feet and sail to the floor. There was absolutely nothing she could do with this over-powering darkness.

Suddenly she felt her hair being gently tugged to the side, the long, black mass easily being spilled over her shoulder. Her heartbeat was erratic in panic, fueling her to try to escape. But the stranger wrapped an arm across her chest and pulled her to them, keeping her in place.

Her heart pounded against her chest. Was this it? Was this how she was going to die, being forced to dance with Chat Noir and then being murdered by one of his cohorts? Without even knowing who her killer was?

She flinched when she felt a cold material rest below her neck. It felt delicate, and thin. It was definitely not a knife, and whatever this thing was, wasn't hurting her.

Next she felt her hand being taken in another's, one whose tender grip seemed all-too-familiar.

"Till next time, my Princess," _his_ voice purred before he touched her knuckles with something soft and warm. She realized with a start that the thief currently robbing her palace was kissing her hand, and not in fact terrorizing her like he did with everyone else.

After that he was quick to depart, and soon enough the screams and frenzied foot movement ceased. It took another few minutes to return light to the room, and when it did the damage was beginning to be assessed.

Various goods were stolen, gold, jewelry, purses, anything that had any sort of value to it.

She raised her hands to her hair, immediately feeling her one and only tiara nestled in her dark locks. At least he didn't steal that. She didn't consider herself to be a selfish person, but that tiara was her absolute favorite with its glittering red and black jewels. Hence, why it was her only one when she could have had many.

But it was when she lowered her hands did she realize her engagement ring was gone.

And strangely, she wasn't too disappointed about it.

...

The ball immediately ended after that. The guests were too afraid to stay any longer in case Chat Noir would come back.

Marinette thought that Prince Theo never came, only to realize he was closer than she thought. For when she went to the room Chat had suggested she go in, she was greeted with the most _wonderful_ sight of her betrothed passionately kissing the Lady Mireille.

Suffice to say that now she was most surelyglad her ring had been stolen. As soon as she told the news to her parents, they immediately cast him out of the kingdom, undoubtedly breaking off the engagement as well.

It was strange, as she now sat in her bedchambers, brushing her hair in front of her vanity. She didn't feel angry, or sad about the turn of events. Why, you could even say she was glad to not be engaged to him anymore.

But she had mixed feelings about the delicate necklace around her neck, with the green cat's eye jewel as the centerpiece.

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 **A/N: Yes, I know the ending is ambiguous, but I really don't think I will write more for this. I just intend this to stay a oneshot with an imaginative ending. Some short stories are like that, after all.**


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette hummed to herself as she brushed, it was a tune long remembered but whose name she'd forgotten.

Moments such as these, alone without a worry to be had, a care to give, were the most desired for the raven-haired Princess. At her age of 19 years, she was eligible to marry and inherit the throne, leaving her to start seeking out suitors and preparing for her future Queenly duties. Not that she minded becoming Queen, she had no qualms about taking charge and leading her people, but the process was quite stressful and boring.

Although, the position would probably entail boredom and stress, so she supposed that she was being prepared now for the job that lay ahead of her.

Then there was the matter of finding a qualified prince to wed. A few had come calling, but she had to admit that Theo was the one that caught her eye-based purely on the fact that he adored art as much as she does. He was handsome, yes, though not particularly special. The breath from her lungs wasn't stolen when she first looked at him, not like-

The sound of a _thump_ caught her attention, as she whirled around and met eyes with the famous bandit that plagued her home earlier this evening.

Her sapphire eyes flamed with rage, her earlier thoughts forgotten.

How did he get in? Why was he here? And would it kill him to wipe that infuriating smirk off his face?

Chat Noir, meanwhile, hadn't been deterred by her clearly angry expression at all. In fact, the way her eyes promised a swift death, only served to widen his grin.

"Intruding on my engagement ball is one thing, but invading my private bedchambers is another," she hissed, having already put down her hairbrush.

A row of his teeth were illuminated by the low candlelight as he flashed her a devious smile.

"I had no idea these were your _private_ bedchambers, Princess. Please, direct me to your public ones and I'll happily await you there," he replied silkily with a teasing wink.

The meaning of his statement was not lost on her, and her face bloomed a rose red in fury. "How dare you! Why are you even here? Haven't you stolen enough from my kingdom?"

His green eyes glittered with promise. Concerning what, she wasn't certain. "No. There's still one more item to steal, and it's going to take some time to acquire it. It's going to take all my skill, and most definitely some miraculous luck, to get it in my hands." He shot her a charming grin as he crossed his arms and walking around the room, straight to her bed where he sat down quietly.

Marinette rose from her seat at the vanity, gritting her teeth at the thief's aggravating attitude.

"Then get out of my bed and go take it. I'm not in the mood for dealing with you, Chat Noir. So just take yourself out of my room at once and go steal whatever precious item you want before I impale you with my brush."

He had the gall to laugh, until the Princess swiftly picked up her hairbrush and held it up for him to see, the golden pointed end easily visible even with the limited light.

The blond frowned, visibly gulping and immediately casting himself out of the soft bed.

"But I told you," he began to explain. "It's not that easy. It's going to take some time..." He brought his voice to a low murmur, just barely audible to her, but she didn't miss the words 'probably a _lot_ of time.'

"It's not something I can just up and steal, Princess," he concluded.

"And what is this 'precious item' that you can't simply take from another kingdom, one preferably far, far away from me?" she retorted, crossing her arms though making sure to keep holding the brush.

He shook his head, this time giving her what was most likely a true smile. It was a first, and a small one, lacking any sort of mischief, thus clueing her in to its purity.

"No one else in the world has this item. There's only one, of which can never be duplicated, and I can only hope I can be fortunate enough to possess it one day," he declared softly.

She tilted her head, utterly perplexed by his explanation. An item one of a kind and that couldn't be duplicated? A rare stone, perhaps? However, to her knowledge her parents didn't own any kind of priceless stone. There were only the common ones in the crowns and a few other decorations, that was it. What could he possibly be talking of?

"I see you haven't taken off my necklace," he spoke, interrupting her thoughts. Gone was the real smile, to be replaced by the sly smirk once again.

The ravenette blanched at that. Blast, she had forgotten to remove it! Although to be fair she didn't expect him to come in here-

Wait.

"How did you even get in here?" she demanded crossly, forgoing a reply to his earlier observation.

Chat Noir shrugged, the action careless and nonchalant yet his eyes glinted with prideful cunning. "By your balcony, of course. You may want to lock that in the future, else a handsome thief might come to steal you away in the night." He sent her another cheeky wink.

"So is that your plan?" she challenged, arching a single black brow. "To steal me away like a savage?"

He shook his head in the negative. "No. If I did, then all hope of getting that item would be lost."

She pursed her lips in thought. Whatever he was after, seemed very valuable to him. Her curiosity was piqued to know what the mysterious item could be. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of asking about it, and she had a feeling he wouldn't disclose what it was anyway.

"And don't think I've forgotten about my necklace still around your neck," he chided playfully, wagging a gloved finger at her. "I'm honestly surprised you're still wearing it, since the stone is a cat's eye." This time he moved to sit in a chair across the room, crossing his arms together as he draped his right leg over his left.

His green eyes glittered dangerously as a corner of his mouth curled up wickedly sinful, as he remarked lowly, "one might think I was marking you, or something."

For a moment her eyes were wide, her cheeks blossoming into the pretty rosy color he was beginning to love looking at. Her stomach got this weird tingly feeling, but it also felt like something was dropped inside of her. It was a strange reaction, one she's never experienced before.

But it wasn't long until that was put aside by her ever-growing vexation for this outlaw. At once her eyes narrowed into a harsh glare that would have normally sent anyone into a pile of nerves and unease. However, to her dismay, it only served to make him grin impossibly wider.

With a scowl, she brought both of her hands behind her head and undid the clasp of the necklace. While she would have loved to yank it from her neck in spite, she recognized the metal for the quality silver it was. It would be a shame to break such a pretty chain.

With the cat's eye necklace in hand, she calmly walked to his seated form in the chair. He sat up, attentive as he gazed up at her quizzically.

Without a word she held out her hand. On instinct he held out his own, to which she deposited the necklace.

"Keep it and get out," she commanded. "I don't care if you're after some precious, one of a kind item. It doesn't require you intrude in my bedchambers, something that is completely inappropriate, by the way. You stole from my kingdom, and I will not entertain thieves. So take yourself out of here and never try coming in here again, or I will call for the guards."

His mouth was partially open as he sat, still clutching onto the necklace in his closed fist. Emerald eyes that were once light and teasing were brought to a dullness that Marinette had never seen anyone have. His shoulders slumped and the corners of his mouth were pulled down into a frown.

He looked…well, _hurt_. Like she just got done ripping his heart out or something.

The compassionate strings of her heart immediately began to tug at seeing such a despondent expression. But she remained steadfast in her decision to cast him out. He was a bandit who had no right to trespass in her bedchambers, she was right to do this.

So why did she feel so guilty?

She opened her mouth to say something more, either to try to soften her words or order him to leave at once, she didn't know which, when the sound of quiet footsteps were at her door.

That was odd, no one should be near her door at this hour.

Chat Noir's head turned so fast to the door, the Princess was surprised he didn't receive whiplash from it. Gone was the pained expression, being quickly replaced by a hardening of his eyes caused by suspicion.

The doorknob began to jiggle, elevating Marinette's heartbeat in panic and causing the blond to rise from the chair.

"Leave!" she hissed, pushing him toward the balcony doors while she ran to her bed and pretended to be sleeping. It was probably her mother or father come to check on her, it happened occasionally but was rare now at her mature age. It wouldn't do for them to find her wide awake and with the thief that just stole from them a few hours before.

Chat, in the meantime, didn't leave as he was ordered to. Instead, he ducked behind the balcony doors' drapes. He was out of sight to the common man, but he could see whoever walked inside perfectly clear.

Slowly, almost silently, a man entered the room, quietly shutting the door behind him with a soft 'click'.

The hiding man narrowed his eyes. Who was this and what purpose did he have sneaking into the Princess's room this late at night?

Well, he had a few ideas of what the man might want…

His jaw tightened while he simultaneously gripped the small dagger he kept at his side.

The man looked at the still-lit lamp for a moment, then at the seemingly-slumbering Princess. For a moment he paused, as if assessing the situation, before shrugging and lumbering toward the bedside.

The blond tensed, his mind immediately going to the worst possibilities as he fought against them. Maybe this man was a servant, sent to retrieve something or…something. Maybe he wasn't after the woman's virtue at all, he could have completely honest intentions.

His eyes widened when he saw the man stop at her bedside, then reach for his belt. Chat could swear his heart stopped when he saw the gleaming end of a knife being pulled out of its holster, with Marinette none-the-wiser to the alarming danger.

He moved quickly, running from his hiding place with his own dagger in his tightened fist. The intruder began to turn, having been startled, when Chat stopped behind him and thrust his weapon into the man's midsection, eliciting a cry of agony from the would-be assassin.

At this Marinette bolted upright, blinking in astonishment as she saw the mystery man fall to the floor, with Chat behind him jerking a bloody dagger out of the man's lower backside. His green eyes were alit in fury, his teeth were bared into a snarl that even frightened her for a second.

Speechless, she glanced down over the bedside to see the limp man lying in a heap on her floor in a pool of blood, but with a knife only a few inches from his hand.

Her breath hitched at the horrible sight, her eyes gradually meeting with her heaving rescuer's.

The man wanted to kill her, stab her in the middle of the night in cold blood. He would have, if Chat Noir had not intervened.

"You saved my life," she whispered in awe. Despite how she had treated him so harshly since he came here, he didn't hesitate to come to her aid. It was purely honorable, a trait she never thought an outlaw would possess.

His mouth formed a grim line as he held the tip of the dagger in his hand before presenting the handle. Her eyebrows furrowed, confused as she stared at it then at him. Why did he want to give her his knife?

"So they think you killed him," he explained. "When the guards come here, you can tell them that you heard him come in and you subsequently killed him for attempting to assassinate you."

She nodded, unable to think of doing anything else at the reason he gave. With steady fingers she took the offered knife. Her sapphire eyes briefly peered down at it, inspecting the dark blood, but her gaze shot up when she heard Chat move toward the balcony doors.

"Wait!" she called, holding out her available hand. He stopped, his head turning back to look questioningly at her.

"Thank you," she bid, bowing her head in a sign of respect. He deserved it, even if he regularly broke the law.

He nodded once. "You're welcome," he replied solemnly.

She bit her lower lip when once more he turned around. After putting down the knife, she called out for him to stop again. This time he got to unlatching the door when he turned to her.

The guilt for her earlier treatment of him was eating her alive. He may have intruded in her room, but other than tease her (and save her life), he did nothing wrong. He did nothing to truly insult her, to hurt her.

All he wanted was some one of a kind item. For his actions that night, she thought that the least she could do was help him attain it.

But first things first…

"I'm sorry," she apologized, frowning in regret. "I'm sorry for my earlier words this evening. You didn't do anything to really wrong me, and you saved my life even after my cruel words. I'm sorry."

A small smile tugged the edges of his lips up as he regarded her, a barely-noticeable twinkle coming to his eyes.

"I forgive you, Princess."

She nervously twisted her fingers together as she tried to say the next part.

"You said that you're after some item that can't be duplicated. If you still want it, I'll be happy to help you get it."

He blinked, clearly surprised at this outcome, until an almost fond smile broadened over his face. His eyes clearly shone with warmth, making her just the slightest bit concerned. She didn't think her help warranted such a gratified expression. Although, he was obviously happy and he already forgave her, so she supposed she shouldn't worry about it too much.

He walked over to her, making sure to avoid the bothersome dead body in the process. Without a single word he took her hand in his, prompting her to look up at him in wonder.

He bent over like any true gentleman and pressed her soft knuckles to his warm, equally soft lips, reminding her of how he did the same thing before he made his grand escape from her castle earlier that evening at the ball. Her eyes locked with his, he blinked slowly while she continued to stare in an almost-daze.

"Thank you, Princess. May I come back tomorrow night?"

He may be an outlaw that stole from her own castle, but he saved her life and she already promised him to help him find whatever it was he was searching for. She considered that enough to let him in her room for another night.

"Yes," she confirmed, coming out of her momentary trance. "I can't help you if you're not here, right?" she joked, presenting him with a half-grin.

He, in turn, grinned fully as he chuckled. "I suppose not. You had better call the guards after I leave, before he," he paused to point down at the body, "starts to smell."

She nearly gasped, having almost forgotten about the man who had tried to kill her now lying in a bloody heap on the floor. She wondered how she could forget a large detail like that, but something about Chat just made her roughly forget about her surroundings.

He released her hand, after depositing something in it, and proceeded to walk back to the balcony doors. He bowed once more with a flourish and performed a two-finger salute before escaping outside and subsequently back into the darkness.

Marinette waited a few minutes to allow him time to run from the castle grounds before she opened her mouth and unleashed a blood-curdling scream so loud it made her throat temporarily raw.

When she heard the sounds of rushing, pounding feet, she hurriedly stuffed the cat's eye necklace under her pillow.

…

"So," Nino started warily back at their camp in the woods. "How did it go?"

The blond in front of him sighed, a goofy-looking smile settling across his features. "She threatened to stab me and tried kicking me out. Then I killed a man."

His best friend's eyes threatened to bulge out of his head. "Wait, what?!"

Chat sighed once more, a sound so loving that it almost made Nino sick when hearing it. He would have been, if he wasn't so distracted by his leader's first sentence.

"It was perfect."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so a few things!**

 **1\. I do have plans for this, but not now. I just wanted to get this part out of the way since it's been in my head since I first posted this story. I want to focus on my other fics before taking off with this one. So for now, this is going to stay Complete.**

 **2\. Marinette's parents don't know about the necklace. They were too busy with the large-scale robbery to take notice of a piece of jewelry around their daughter's neck.**

 **3\. Chat was attracted to Marinette when he first saw her, but fell in love when he discovered her fiery and sassy personality. Marinette, while attracted to him, is slowly getting there lol.**


End file.
